Every day LSU shortstop
Alex Bregman opens his locker at Alex Box Stadium, he eyeballs a
less-than-subtle reminder of one of the moments that defined his spectacular freshman
season. One that in no way shapes the impact he had as a freshman or a future
that he is champing at the bit to unleash.

The Tigers officially
start down the road to a new baseball season on Friday when they convene for
the first day of organized practice.

In reality, though, that
process began as soon as Bregman and his teammates walked off the diamond at TD
Ameritrade Park in Omaha last June 19 following a second and season-ending College World Series
loss.

A busy summer followed for
Bregman as a key player for Team USA, but as soon as he got the chance, he found
a physical reminder of a costly error he committed in LSU's CWS opener against
UCLA, a 2-1 loss.

LSU shortstop Alex Bregman, left, stares at the ground after his error in the 8th inning against UCLA as teammates Christian Ibarra, center, and second baseman JaCoby Jones, right, look on. The Tigers lost to the Bruins, 2-1, and were bounced from the CWS two days later. Chris Granger, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Hanging
in his locker at the Box -- impossible to miss according to former Tiger
teammate Mason Katz -- is a clipped-out newspaper photo of that error.

"It gives me a reason
to think about it before I go out and take ground balls," Bregman said this
week. "Every day, I take ground balls with a little more purpose than before.
Baseball is a game of failure. You have to learn from it. Learn to get back up when
you have failed. If we're back there in Omaha this year, I want the same exact
ball hit to me in that same exact situation.

"Emotionally, I think
I've moved on. But it's something I'll always learn from every day. It showed
me that you can be the man all year and then on the last play, you make an
error in the College World Series and your team loses because of it. I hope
guys around me see that as well and understand how perfect you have to be in
Omaha."

In case it wasn't clear
before, Bregman is ready to lead.

Last season, with a
senior-laden team that included two of the more prolific hitters in LSU's proud
program history in Katz and Raph Rhymes, Bregman stayed in the background as
much as he needed to and let his actions speak for themselves.

Those actions were
historically attention-getting: Bregman batted .369 (second to Katz' .370),
with team highs in hits (104), runs (59), doubles (18), triples (7) and stolen
bases (16-of-17). The Albuquerque native also swatted 6 home runs and drove in
52 runs, second on the team to Katz's 70.

It was something else
that set the stage for Bregman to be a leader now, when LSU needs him to be. And
it's no coincidence that he has found ways to motivate himself before.

As a senior at
Albuquerque Academy, Bregman was regarded as one of the top players in the
country prior to the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. In March of his senior
season at Albuquerque Academy, a bad-hop during pre-game infield work shattered
the middle finger on his throwing hand.

So when Bregman got to LSU
and was asked what uniform number he wanted, he didn't hesitate. He wanted No.
30 to represent the 30 teams that passed on him in the first round of the
draft.

"Thirty teams that
messed up," he said with a smile.

Motivations change and
reshape. So when Katz finished his senior season, he had to pass on the No. 8
jersey that has become a symbol of hard work and passion - one that began with
Mikie Mahtook and was passed on to Katz.

Much like Bregman with
30, Katz didn't have to think long. In fact, he had hatched the idea before
Bregman ever played a game at the Box.

"Before I really ever
saw him play a game, I put his name at the top of the list because in fall
practice he made a huge impression on me and everybody else on our team," Katz
said of his former teammate. "When Mikie handed me the number, he told me it
has nothing to do with how you play on the field. It's all about how you come to
practice and how hard you're willing to work, the time you put in to help build
the team around you.

"Every day, Bregman
shows up to the park ready to make himself better. The one thing everybody
talks about is his work ethic, and that's what made up my mind for me."

Which completed a full
circle.

The transition from No.
30 to No. 8 goes hand-in-hand with Bregman's acknowledgment of how his role for
the Tigers has evolved.

He has personal goals
carved out. Without hesitation, Bregman says he wants to hit .500 and makes five errors
or less. The team goals are there, too. Basically nothing short of a national
championship will satisfy his appetite.

More than anything,
though, Bregman understands that he has to embrace a much different role this
season.

"I have to be the
leader now," he said. "That's why I took No. 8. It's an honor. This is my team
now, and it's Aaron Nola's team now. We have to take charge. This is exactly
where I want to be. I want all the leadership and pressure on me."

That's exactly the kind
of take-charge way of thinking Mahtook shouldered, and he's thrilled that his
legacy, fulfilled so well by Katz for two seasons, will be forwarded now to
Bregman.

After he left in 2011, former LSU star Mikie Mahtook passed his No. 8 to close friend Mason Katz. Now Alex Bregman gets the honor.NOLA.com | Times-Picayune

"Mason represented No.
8 very well, and I knew he would," Mahtook said. "He played the game right. My
intention was always for someone to wear it who personified what LSU baseball is
all about. I think Alex is a great choice to wear it next. He's always working
hard to get that extra edge."

An edge that Bregman
thinks every player in an LSU uniform will play with this season.

The Tigers rolled up
the best regular season in program history in 2013, storming to a 48-8 record.
They arrived in Omaha at 57-9, but went 0-2 to put a damper on the first trip
back to college baseball's Mecca since 2009.

National awards flowed for Bregman, including the Brooks Wallace Award as the top shortstop in the
country. Likewise, he has been named to every preseason All-American team
imaginable.

None of which moves the
needle much for the uber-confident 19-year-old.

Alex BregmanAssociated Press

"I definitely wasn't
satisfied with anything last year," he said. "I came here to win a national
championship. We didn't do that last year when we were good enough to.

"The day after we lost
to North Carolina, this team started preparing for this year. It didn't sit
well with us. It left us feeling a little empty-handed. We thought we should've
been national champions. So we're going to play with a little chip on our
shoulder."

That immediate
transition from CWS also-ran to fired-up competitor got put to a test very
quickly.

Bregman went straight from Omaha
to Lubbock, Texas, to accept the Wallace Award to Cary, N.C., to join Team USA. TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, a longtime Tulane
assistant, was running the national team, and he wasn't sure what to expect
when Bregman rolled into town so soon after the punch-in-the-gut end to his
season.

What he got was a
player starving to get back on the diamond at the absolute first opportunity.

Team USA coach Jim SchlossnagleAssociated Press

"That tells you a lot
about him," said Schlossnagle, who refers to Bregman as the Pete Rose of
college baseball. "When you coach that USA team, you're always concerned about
guys showing up, especially the ones who play deep into the College World
Series. They usually want a break or they say they're tired. Not Alex. He just
loves baseball. I think he'd be just as fired up playing a pickup game on a
square piece of grass as putting on the USA uniform, and I know how much he
loved that.

"He's certainly
talented, and I don't want to disrespect his physical tools because those are
tremendous. But the stuff that makes him so special are his makeup, his desire,
his competitiveness. His ability to relax at moments when most players get
anxious is absolutely phenomenal. He was a joy to coach. He makes it tough on a
coach because he sets a standard that you want to hold other players to, and
that's really not to fair to everybody else."

How strong was the
impression Bregman made? Enough that he put him in the category with only one
other player he had been around: Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia,
who Schlossnagle nearly got to come to Tulane.

Schlossnagle has stayed
close to Pedroia since coaching against him when he was at UNLV and the Rebels
played Arizona State in a regional championship game.

"Alex is a true
baseball grinder and those are hard to find," Schlossnagle said. "Dustin
Pedroia is the one guy who comes to mind, and I honestly believe Alex is faster
and more versatile at this stage of his career than Dustin was."

That career is still
just starting to form, of course.

LSU shortstop Alex Bregman's bat went quiet at the College World Series, as he was 0-for-8 in two games.Associated Press

Bregman's fiery drive
has been there for as long as he can remember, though, with a few mileposts
along the way to serve as reminders.

Things like 29 (as in
the round Boston finally called him). Things like the No. 30. And now things
like the No. 8.

Maybe just numbers to
most people. But to Bregman, those numbers are reminders of where he's been. Reminders
of how close he's gotten to climbing to the top. And now reminders of what he
needs to do to finish that journey.

"I have a lot that
motivates me and makes me want to reach my potential," Bregman said. "I've
always pushed myself to be as good as I can be. Now I just have a few more
reasons to."